Biography

Edwin J. Brett, the editor of The Boys Weekly Reader, was born in Canterbury, England in 18281. Brett founded and edited many magazines until his death in 1895, and seems to have been well-known, even infamous, during his time, though his popularity has not lasted. 
 Brett was born to a middle class family: his father, Thomas, “was a retired British Army officer who had served through the Peninsular War (1808-13),” while his mother, Mary, “was distantly related to the aristocracy.” Brett's family further “claimed that they 'came over with [William] the Conqueror.'” These beginnings surely shaped Brett as his literature for boys, as evidenced by this week's republished story, used the theme of war, surely a hot-topic at the time in Britain. 
 Perhaps Brett's mother was the original force that sparked his interest in literary work. She was interested in the theater, though Brett's father found more sensible work for him as an apprentice to a watchmaker at age fourteen, believing Brett to have little scholarly aptitude. Springhall observes that this is an odd choice to learn a trade when Edwin came from a wealthier family. Soon enough though, Brett left his apprenticeship and moved to London to become an artist-engraver. He also became involved in the Chartist movement. In the 1850s and 60s, Edwin befriended a group of London bohemians who were involved in the literary world. Around this time, Brett took over his first publication, English Girls' Journal and Ladies Magazine,which began his publication career though the magazine itself ceased publication after about a year (Springhall). Around 1867 “Brett had become the sole proprietor and managing editor of the NPC” (Springhall). This weekly publication, sold for a penny, included tales, complete with illustrations, of the “gallows literature” or “penny dreadful” genre, “about pirates, highwaymen, and sordid crime in the metropolis, bearing such titles as Black Rollo, The Pirate (1864-65), Red Ralph (1865-66), The Dance of Death (1865-66) and the notorious Wild Boys series.”2 This magazine was so controversial in its time that it was eventually shut down by the police around 1870, even though at that point it was only reprinting previous stories (Springhall). 
 Edwin Brett had many other, less scandalous, publications. His magazines were aimed at boys and, though he took public opinion to heart, he purposefully did so “without alienating his adolescent readers with their insatiable appetite for adventure and sensation.” Brett's initial publications included The B oy's Companion (started 1865, 33 issues) and The Boy's Own Reader (started 1866, 23 issues). These two included fictional stories as well as “articles on hobbies and sport, letters, poems, anecdotes, competitions.” Brett's most successful magazine was The Boys of England (started 1866, 1702 issues) in which he blatantly copied the “format, layout, illustrative style and melodramatic content” of The London Journal and Reynolds's Miscellany. This magazine's name changed to Up-To-Date Boys and then became a part of Boys of the Empire in 1901. These publications did not repeat any of their stories, using original work from authors such as “Captain Mayne Reid, Percy and Vane St. John, W. H. Stephens and Cecil Stagg.” 
 There were, however, other publications of similar content and style, put out by the Emmet brothers, and publications with more moral leanings, such as Rev. John Erskine Clarke's. Overall, Brett's publications were very popular: they appealed to and were affordable for boys of all classes and he included novel additions such as the “Sale and Exchange page” in Boys of the Empire that let collectors reach each other. 
 Edwin J. Brett's personal life and publications were true to the time period during which they existed. Both were firmly rooted in military life and the strength and pride of the British Empire. Although his work is barely recognized today, Brett had a deep impact in his world of accessible, thrilling magazines throughout the mid- to late-1800s. 
-Lisa Weinstein